Caribbean Island Hopping - Part I
El Yunque Rainforest and Old San Juan
By Quamrul Haider
The cold and snowy winter is over, spring is here. With schools are closed for Easter and spring break, there was no better time for a relaxing cruise to exotic islands in the Eastern Caribbean. Our 10-day island-hopping voyage from New York to Puerto Rico, St Thomas, St Maarten and Tortola started on the afternoon of April 8.
After four nights and three days of sailing on the Atlantic Ocean, our ship dropped anchor in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, on April 12. We had the whole day to experience some of the attractions of this extraordinary island with beautiful beachfronts, a rainforest, and the colourful Spanish colonial buildings and massive fortresses of cobblestoned Old San Juan.
But theres only so much one can do in a day. We, therefore, decided to split the day between El Yunque Rainforest, from morning to afternoon, and Old San Juan in late afternoon.
Located 40 kilometres east of San Juan, El Yunque in the Luquillo Mountains was a drive-through experience with stops along the way. Our first stop was the Yokahu Tower, a round stone lookout 1,575 feet above the sea level. From the tower, we had a spectacular view of the mountainous forest.
As we walked through the forest, we saw an amazing diversity of over-abundant trees, shrubs, plants and flowers.We were blown away at the sight of giant ferns fluttering in the wind, gigantic tabonuco trees draping the lower forest and towering thickets of bamboo dotting the entire landscape.
Despite the dry season, El Yunque was wet, green and blooming. The aroma of exotic flowers bird of paradise, bromeliad, crab claws, frangipani, ginger, heliconia, hibiscus, impatiens and African tulip filled the moist air amid a chorus of whistling birds and chirping of tiny tree frogs, called coquis, found here in abundance.
Just off the road is one of the many beautiful waterfalls - La Coca Falls. Looking like a curtain made of a see-through glossy fabric, the falls consist of four streams cascading down the face of a massive rock.
Since El Yunque is small in size, it does not have large animals. It is home to different kinds of reptiles though, most notably the Puerto Rican boa. Additionally, there are almost 50 species of birds, including the critically endangered Puerto Rican Amazon parrot.
Although we could not explore the entire forest, El Yunque nevertheless provided us with the full jungle effect - mists drifting down the verdant hillsides, exotic flowers everywhere, and mysterious clicks, peeps and trills emanating from the canopy.
A visit to Puerto Rico is not complete until one visits the Old Town. However, the list of must see and must do things were limited by the length of time we could spend in this exciting quintessential colonial neighbourhood of San Juan. Thus, instead of visiting historical fortresses, we decided to stroll lazily and aimlessly through the narrow, steeply inclined lanes laced with pastel coloured buildings, their wrought-iron balconies decorated with bright pink bougainvillea bowers spilling over exquisite facades.
At the entrance of the Old Town, the concrete streets from the pier, where our ship was docked, suddenly morph into bumpy, slate-blue cobblestone, loudly announcing the countrys Spanish heritage.The sun-dappled, cobblestoned streets, pulsating with the rhythms of Afro-Latin salsa and La Bamba, are chockablock with restaurants, bars, open-air cafes and shops. And almost everywhere we went, we had a breathtaking view of the San Juan Bay, its beaches lined with silky ribbons of sand.
Overall, we had a hectic yet a wonderful day. We saw magic in the pristine beauty, sounds and serenity of El Yunque Rainforest, followed by a relaxing walk immersed in the rich history, romantic ambiance, old-world elegance, exquisite food and festive atmosphere of Old San Juan.
The writer is Professor of Physics atFordham University, New York.
Photos: Mahjabeen Haider and writer.
